Effects of Ulva rigida on the Growth, Feed Intake and Body Composition of Common Carp, Cyprinus carpio L.

Abstract

This study is the first trial to evaluate algae meal, Ulva rigida, as an inexpensive and locally available feed ingredient in the diet of common carp, Cyprinus carpio. Five experimental diets were supplemented with Ulva meal at 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20% (C0, U5, U10, U15 and U20, respectively) to investigate the effect of replacement of wheat meal by Ulva meal for common carp, Cyprinus carpio during a 112-day growth trial. Carp fingerlings, each initially weighing 3.1 g, were stocked into 60 l-glass tanks and were fed to apparent satiation three times daily. Performances of fish fed the test diets were evaluated in terms of survival, final mean weight, percent weight gain, specific growth rate, feed conversion ratio, protein efficiency ratio and body composition. Poorest growth performance was recorded from fish fed the diet with 20% Ulva meal supplementation (U20) (p 0.05). Results suggested that the dietary Ulva meal inclusion of 5 to 15% replacing wheat meal in carp diets could be acceptable.